


Warmth

by usachanbeccer



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/M, Giant lizards, Giant plants, I love them so much, Literally just Lup and Barry for a year, Lup and Barry are in LOVE, Spoilers for Episode: e060-066 The Stolen Century Parts 1-7, blupjeans, pre legato institute, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 18:30:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13687371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/usachanbeccer/pseuds/usachanbeccer
Summary: The IPRE crew have been hoping from cycle to cycle, never sure what to expect. This latest cycle will test their bonds to the limit, and maybe Lup and Barry will grow closer because of it.Set before the Legato Institute, blupjeans centric.





	Warmth

**Author's Note:**

> This has been in the works for a long time and I'm so excited to finally post it! I came up with this story with one of my best friends @aisling07 on tumblr and we decided to collaborateen together! Btw she did the fantastic art in this chapter!

 

The Starblaster burst through the atmosphere and landed in the newest planar system. It was a jungle world, with larger than life plants in vibrant greens stretching up into the sky, taller than the ship they came on. The plants came in vibrant reds, purples and dark pinks. 

 

They had spent almost a week in the air, searching for somewhere to land the ship when they landed near a small pool of water that sat next to a tall cliffside, moss growing up and up and up, giving away the moist atmosphere of their new surroundings. There was water spilling lazily over the cliffside, creating a small waterfall that fed the pool of water and provided the surrounding plants with the water they would need. There were less of the purple and pink and red plants in this small clearing, just the large green leaves and tall trees stretching up and out of their reach. 

 

Davenport stepped away from the helm to address his crew, “alright gang, let’s put together a team and go do some exploration. We need to see if there are any natives or if this is gonna be another lonely year.” Davenport clapped his small hands together expectantly, waiting for someone on his crew to volunteer. 

 

Magnus raised his hand first, he’s always first to volunteer for these exploration missions and this time was no different. 

 

“I want to go too, I want a closer look at the plants down there for my journal.” Lucretia spoke up from the back of the group, clutching her journal close to her chest. The crew looked at her with wide eyes, Lucretia usually stayed behind on the ship, tending to favor the diplomatic missions or hearing the stories from everyone else so she could record them in her journals. 

 

Davenport recovered the quickest, nodding at the two humans before dismissing the crew. 

 

Two hours later, the exploration team headed out, promising to be back in a week at the latest. The rest of the crew didn’t pay it any mind, they were all adults, they could handle an uninhabited forest just fine. 

 

It had been a week since they had left and Barry was starting to worry. He tried to reason with himself, Magnus probably got them lost and Davenport and Lucretia had to figure out where the Starblaster was parked again. They would be back soon, he told himself. 

 

Two weeks after the crew had left, Lup was worried, and when Lup worried, they all worried. 

 

“I’m gonna go find them, who’s in?” Lup stated at dinner that night, looking between the three others at the table expectantly. The group shared looks, all of them avoiding Lup’s burning gaze. 

 

“I guess I’ll go if you go, Lulu,” Taako sighed. Lup smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

 

“I think Merle should go too, just in case they need to be healed,” Barry spoke up, causing Merle to smack him on the arm and call him a “little shit”. 

 

“No, Barry actually makes a good point, Merle. We leave in the morning, boys.” Lup left the table after that, leaving no room for an argument.

 

The next morning, Barry waved the three of them off, hoping that they didn’t meet the same fate the other three must have met. 

 

Lup led them through the thick forest, blasting holes through the larger plants when they were unable to shove them out of the way. Taako followed close on her heels, Mage Handing the smaller plants out of the way and swatting at the few bugs they seemed to encounter. Merle waddled behind them, inspecting the plants and muttering to himself. 

 

As they made their way through the forest, Merle seemed to get more anxious, steering clear of the brighter plants, even going as far as to hurry the twins along the makeshift path the other group must have made. 

 

“Merle, stop pushing or I will Mage Hand you into next week!” Taako snapped, stomping his foot on the ground for emphasis. 

 

“Sorry, sorry, it’s just there’s something off about the plants here. They’re giving me the heebie-jeebies...” Merle grumbled, shoving Taako once more for good measure.

 

The two began bickering after that, Lup rolled her eyes and began to take in their surroundings. It seemed that there had been some sort of struggle here, plants with tears in the middle of their leaves, trampled and flattened grass, even the occasional footprint that seemed to skid across the muddy areas, but what would have caused it? Lup got closer to the scene, trying to see if any clues were left, then she saw it. She crouched down to see what was hidden under the bushes and let out a shout, her hand shouting forward to grab the discarded journal. 

 

“You guys! Lucy’s journal!” Lup shouted, making her way back to the bickering pair. Taako shot Lup a curious gaze, his eye glued to the journal she was waving about. 

 

“Guys, I think something happened, Lucretia doesn’t just leave a journal!” Lup was arguing against no one, her mind racing. What could have happened that caused Lucretia to leave her journal behind... or cause the struggle that Lup had been investigating. 

 

Lup didn’t have much more time to ponder the situation, the sound of something large shifting filled the air and Lup whipped around, wand drawn.

 

The large flower that the group had been ignoring was moving. It slithered and seemed to grow fifteen feet in the air, towering over the group and casting them in a dark shadow. The deep pink petals shivering to life.

 

“Merle what the fuck is that?!” Lup shouted, her eyes never leaving the looming plant, she had a feeling this was the answer to what had happened the the rest of their crew. 

 

“It’s bad news, that’s what it is!” Merle responded, raising his hands up to start casting. 

 

The plant lunged at the group, snatching Merle up viciously. The plant slithered away, taking Merle with it. 

 

“Shit it got Merle!” 

 

“Yeah, no shit, dingus!” Taako spat, casting off a Ray of Frost in a hopeless attempt to save Merle. Taako turned to Lup, as if he were about to suggest retreat. Taako didn’t suggest retreat, instead he tackled Lup to the ground and stood over her.

 

“Taako!” Lup shouted as she watched Taako Magic Missile the plant that had been about to strike her. This plant was wider and taller than the first. It had two petals in a rich green, the blood red spikes on the ends that reminded Lup of a lion’s maw.

 

Lup scrambled to her feet, searching for her wand frantically. She had lost her wand when Taako tackled her and she was defenseless without it. Taako seemed to notice her panicked searching, planting himself in front of her while she searched. 

 

Lup dove back to the ground, running her hands through the thick underbrush and digging her way to the mud, trying to find her wand. After a few moments of searching, she finally found it, sitting at the foot of the giant plant. 

 

“Son of a!” Lup cursed under her breath, she stood up and shot Taako a look, but he was too busy keeping the plant off her to see it. 

 

“Taako, bad news! My wand’s over by the plant!” 

 

“Well we’re fucked, I’m almost out of spell slots!” Taako laughed breathlessly, shooting off another magic missile.

 

Lup dove for her wand, it was their only hope to make an escape if Taako ran out of spell slots. Taako seemed to realize what Lup’s plan was, intercepting her as she dove, taking her place as the giant plant lunged forward, snapping up Taako by the hem of his skirt. 

 

“Taako!” Lup stumbled a bit, managing not to fall in the mud from Taako’s shove. She watched as the plant whisked Taako away, his arms stretched out as if she could catch them and stop his doomed fate. 

 

“Lup, catch!” Taako tossed his wand at her, which she caught effortlessly, getting ready to fire off a round of magic missiles.

 

“Run you dingus!” Taako’s shouts were strangled as the plant sealed his fate. 

 

Lup shouted, a burst of flames shooting from the wand straight towards the plant. The surrounding plants took most of the damage, leaving Lup standing in a circle of her own charred destruction. 

 

Lup turned on her heel and ran, she had to get back to the Starblaster and let Barry know what happened before he did something stupid like look for them or leave the Starblaster at all. 

 

Lup made it back to the ship in record time, throwing open the heavy metal door with a clang.

 

“Barry, Barry please tell me you’re still here!” She shouted as she ran towards the lab, hoping that the nerd was in the “nerd cave”, as Taako had dubbed it a few cycles back. 

 

“Barold!” Lup threw the door open, relief flowing through her as she saw him tinkering with a small robotic toy they kept from the robot cycle. 

 

Lup didn’t hesitate as she rushed forward, wrapping Barry in a bone-breaking hug. Barry yelped in response, he had been too caught up in his own thoughts that he barely registered her coming in, let alone her hugging him.

 

“Barry, this plane sucks.” 

 

It was then that Barry noticed she was alone, guessing at the situation the man set down his tools and returned Lup’s hug, pulling her close. The two stayed locked in an embrace for what felt like an eternity until Lup finally pulled away, fixing Barry with a fiery glare.

 

“I’m gonna light this motherfucker up, Barry.” 

 

It took a few hours after that for Lup to get through the whole story, her frequent pauses to go smash something or shoot a spell off at a small plant out of frustration stretching out her story-telling time. Barry just listened, following her like a lost puppy when she would go to destroy something incase she needed him for anything. 

 

The two stayed like that, Lup destroying and Barry following, for a few days following the incident. That is, until Barry brought up the Light of Creation.

 

“So, uh, Lup, I happened to notice where the Light fell while you were uh, out,” Barry said at dinner, glancing up to gauge Lup’s reaction to this. Lup’s head had shot up, her fork slamming into the plate roughly as she excitedly pushed herself away from the table. 

 

“What are we waiting for, let’s figure out a way around these dumb plant monsters!” Lup called over her shoulder as she left the dining room, expecting Barry to follow her. 

 

The two spent the next week and a half tirelessly working on a plan to sneak past the plants. Lup liked having a goal to work towards, it helped her avoid thinking about Taako, yet Barry was worried, she was working herself harder than he’d ever seen her work and she was going to reach a breaking point. 

 

One week later, the duo set out for the Light, itching to be out of the Starblaster. Lup was armed with two wands, one tucked into her back pocket and the other clutched tightly in her fingers. Barry followed her closely, his wand also out and his head swiveling; searching for any movement in the dense forest.

 

Lup led the way, swatting plants out of her way as she went. After about an hour she turned towards Barry with her hand raised in warning. Barry stopped, glancing at her curiously, there wasn’t any sign of the Light so they couldn’t be close, could they? 

 

“Barry, you hear that, right?” Lup’s ears twitched, hearing something that Barry’s human ears couldn’t pick up. 

 

“No? Is it a plant?” Barry asked, turning his back to Lup to make sure they had both ends covered. His wand was in the ready position as he scanned the dense greenery for any signs of movement. After seeing no lurking plants waiting to strike, Barry turned back to Lup, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, “we should keep moving, if we stay here long enough we’ll become sitting ducks.” 

 

Lup nodded, taking the lead once more through the underbrush, her wand still very ready with a spell on the tip of her tongue. 

 

Barry started paying more attention to the plants that they passed, taking note of how most were a vibrant green but every so often they would pass one full of color that gave Barry a sense of dread. He would go as far as to believe these might be the man-eating plants that Lup had told him about. 

 

The walk to where the Light landed was uneventful after that, both Lup and Barry on guard for any sign of life, breathing or otherwise. They didn’t stop again for strange noises, but they did stop again. 

 

“Holy shit,” Lup breathed as she stopped, gazing up at the impossibly large lizard that stood with it’s back to the duo. The lizard was a yellow-orange color, standing nearly three hundred feet with rough skin full of bumps that Lup could count from where she stood a clearing away. The same build of a dog but it’s head seemed to be level with it’s shoulders, stretching the skin on it’s neck like armor. It seemed to be occupied with watching as the sun set, standing protectively over what Barry assumed was the nest it inhabited. 

 

Barry took a cautious step back, grabbing onto Lup’s robe to tug her along. Lup stayed put, her eyes fixed on the lizard. 

 

“Lup, we’ve gotta go around, there’s no wa-”

 

“Barry she has the Light, look,” Lup pointed at the nest, where the Light was sitting, right next to several large eggs. 

 

It took Barry only a second to process that the Light was currently in the nest, but in those seconds Lup had managed to bolt forward, heading for the nest. 

 

Barry could only watch as she scaled the nest, climbing up what had to be nearly a hundred feet of dead plant matter, wilting away as Lup climbed. Lup made it about a fourth of the way up before the outer part gave way and crumbled beneath her fingertips with a sickening groan.

 

Lup fell through the air, scrambling to reach the wand she had shoved in her pocket while climbing. Once she had it in her grasp, she quickly cast Feather Fall on herself before she hit the ground with a soft thud. Barry ran towards her, already getting out the small first-aid kit he had packed for the trip. Kneeling beside her, he could see that she had just scraped herself and would have a few bruises coming in, but she was otherwise unharmed. 

 

“Common, let’s get back to the Starblaster and think of a better plan.” 

 

Barry led the way this time, Lup spent the walk grumbling over the fact that there was a very large lizard keeping the Light from them. 

 

Barry led her to her room and made sure she got into bed before leaving to his own room, they could focus on the Light tomorrow. 

 

Barry went to his room and looked at the bed, it was late and he knew he should sleep, but his last few attempts had ended in nightmares that he would rather leave alone. He resigned himself to sitting at his desk, writing in the journal that was laying on his desk, someone had to keep track of the year while Lucretia was gone.

 

Barry must have fallen asleep while writing in the journal, the next thing he knew he was waking up in the middle of a dark field, he could hear the rest of the IPRE crew shouting to him, desperately, but he couldn’t see them. Barry searched frantically for the people he now considered family, but he couldn’t see them, or anyone else for that matter. Barry soon couldn’t even hear them. 

 

Barry was lost. Barry was lost and alone and he didn’t know what to do. 

 

Barry was about to give into the darkness and just give up, but then he heard her. Lup was calling for him, far, far away. Lup kept calling for him as the field around Barry began to crumble and then, it was gone and Barry was falling in the darkness, engulfed in her voice shouting for him. 

 

Barry awoke with a start, his legs kicking and his torso trying to spring forward only to be held back by two sturdy hands on his shoulders. Barry was gasping for breath, his heart  pounding and his mind racing. 

 

“Barry! Barry come back to me, buddy,” Lup was talking to him, he had to control himself. Barry blinked before taking her hands off his shoulder with a weak shove. He sat up and scrubbed his face, feeling the tears that had started to dry on his cheeks. Lup hovered over him, and Barry looked up with a weak smile, he was okay now.

 

“Barry, you were screaming.” Lup said, her tone heavy. Barry felt his heart sink, he was afraid of that. He hadn’t had a nightmare for a few cycles, he was usually better about catching them himself. 

 

“Sorry, did I wake you?” Barry asked, scooting over to let Lup take a seat on his bed. Lup sat down and pressed herself close enough to comfort him. Barry felt the butterflies in his stomach stir once more, but not because of the nightmare. 

 

Lup then grabbed Barry gently and held him in a sideways hug, running her fingers through his hair and humming quietly. Barry couldn’t understand the words, but he could feel a calm laying itself over him as he relaxed into the hug. The two stayed like that until the morning light filtered through the small window in Barry’s room. 

 

When the morning came, Lup stood suddenly, offering a hand to Barry, which he accepted. She dragged him out of his room and down the hall. She pulled him wordlessly into the kitchen, shoving him at the sink before turning to the fridge to find some food. 

 

“Wash up, we’re making breakfast.” 

 

Barry raised an eyebrow but did as he was told, washing his hands before being whirled around and having a bowl and a carton of eggs shoved in his arms. He fumbled to catch the objects as he clumsily made his way to the counter. Barry set down the bowl and cracked open the egg carton, picking out some eggs and cracking them open over the bowl.

 

“Scramble them,” Lup instructed, drying her hands on a towel as she made her way to the cabinets in search of a pan. Barry nodded and began to whisk the eggs in the bowl. They worked together in silence, Lup sometimes giving Barry instructions or corrections until they had enough scrambled eggs for the both of them.

 

Lup grabbed plates from the cabinets and dished them both a generous heaping of eggs, then she handed over a plate and fork to Barry.

 

“What’s with the, uh, the face?” Barry asked, accepting the plate with a raised eyebrow. Lup had her bribery face on and Barry didn’t like the looks of it. 

 

“Oh oh, it’s nothing, just what was your nightmare about?” Lup asked. Barry took a step back, eyes wide, he didn’t think she would bring it up, after all, she hadn’t for the entire night so why now?

 

Barry looked down at the plate to avoid her burning gaze, “n-nothing, it doesn’t matter.” 

 

Lup huffed, but didn’t pry. She turned on her heel and left Barry standing in the kitchen alone, his appetite gone at the mention of his nightmare.

 

He spent the next hour or so pushing the eggs around on his plate, trying to forget the nightmare he had when Lup burst into the kitchen, “Barold, you need to see this.”

 

Lup rushed out of the kitchen, Barry right on her heels as she led him to the main deck of the Starblaster, where there was the big viewing window. Instead of seeing the lush green forest out the window with the big deep blue sky hanging in the background, Barry couldn’t see out the window at all. Large green leaves shaped like arrows climbed up window, blocking out the light and casting the room in a lush green hue. 

 

“It seems we have some visitors,” Lup glanced at Barry, gauging his reaction. Barry looked back up at her, an eyebrow raised in concern. Lup sighed and flopped into the chair that was on the deck.

 

“I’ve tried casting from here, but the stupid magic barrier on the ship kept the spell from reaching... I also may have singed the wall.” Lup explained, waving a hand at the base of the window, where there were some scorch marks clustered around. 

 

“Have you tried the door? Maybe we can blast them from the outside?” Barry asked, his eyes trained on the plants, trying to see if there was a weak spot from the inside, something they could hit. Lup laughed in response, which Barry took to mean the door was not the best idea he’d had that morning. 

 

“Buddy, they’re giving the Starblaster the most intense hug of it’s life.” Lup said, “there’s no way of getting out.”

 

Barry nodded, taking in all the information before cracking open the journal and scribbling the situation down. Lup fixed him with a curious look, but said nothing.

 

“Alright, well we better find a way off the Starblaster...”

 

The rest of the day was spent with Lup and Barry trying to come up with different ideas of how to exit the Starblaster without being caught by a plant. The two had no luck until the sun was setting and they were eating their dinner in silence on the floor of the main deck.

 

Barry had laid down to stare at the ceiling after he had finished his food, he had been tired from the lack of sleep and with all the food in his stomach, he thought he could catch a few winks. Instead, he had an idea.

 

“Hey, Lup?” 

 

“Yes, Barold?” 

 

“What if, uh, what if we went up instead of out?” Barry looked over at her and threw her a lazy grin, Lup looked at him with the biggest grin he had seen since they started this cycle. Lup stood and reached out a hand which he took gratefully, brushing himself off before fishing his wand out of his pocket.

 

Lup and Barry set to work, levitating themselves up to the ceiling and creating a hole in the ceiling, they could seal it back up after they managed to break out.

 

Lup let out a cheer as she and Barry pushed the heavy metal panel out onto the roof, leaving a hole large enough for the two to wiggle out. Lup didn’t hesitate to pull herself up and out of hole and onto the top of the Starblaster. Barry wormed his way out right after her, standing up on the metal hull with a wide grin. 

 

The setting sun cast the two in deep purple and blue lighting, a slight breeze gently brushing against their skin. Barry and Lup looked at each other and grinned as they took in the world around them. This world was pretty spectacular in the evening light. Cool tones casting long shadows over the tall foliage and rock formations. The sky had no stars in the sky, just being a dark pool of blue, a small  waxing moon hung in the sky, giving the two some light as they took in their surroundings. 

 

“Barry look!” Lup pointed a slender finger over to their right at something glowing in the distance, “this whole damn forest is a circle!” 

 

Barry could see in the fading light that there was a small glowing point: the Light of Creation. It was somehow behind their ship instead of being in front of them from the way they had seen it fall. 

 

“Common! The stupid lizard should be asleep, let’s go!” Lup took a running start before launching herself off the Starblaster and taking off into the darkened forest. 

 

With a sigh Barry took off after her, he didn’t have a good feeling about this. 

 

By the time Barry had caught up to Lup, she had already scaled the giant nest. Barry watched in anticipation as Lup steadied herself on the edge, looking for a way to grab the Light without disturbing the giant lizard that slept beneath it. 

 

Lup took a step forward, unaware of the structural damage of the nest beneath her until it crumbled away, making her stumble back to prevent a rough fall. Barry’s hand tightened around his wand, but he didn’t act, Lup was fine, she could do this. Lup could do anything.

 

Lup glanced around, seeming to look for a sturdy place to step next, unaware that hr misstep had caused the giant lizard to stir. 

 

The giant lizard lifted it’s large head, slowly blinking it’s massive eyes awake. Barry couldn’t do anything but watch, if he warned Lup he’d put her in danger, so he watched and he waited, his fingers grasping his wand tightly. 

 

Lup didn’t notice as she made a grab for the Light, right in the lizard’s line of sight. The large lizard roared in anger as Lup made a grab for the Light, startling Lup and nearly causing her to fall off the nest. The lizard lunged at Lup, snapping at her with giant teeth. 

 

“Lup!” Barry raised his wand and sent out a flurry of magic missiles at the lizard, hoping to keep it from biting Lup. 

 

Lup was sent flying backwards as she tried dodging Barry’s spells and the lizards teeth, plummeting towards the ground. Barry raced forward, sending off feather fall to slow Lup’s fall. He managed to slow her fall enough that he was able to catch her, but from the looks of her injuries, she wouldn’t make it if he didn’t hurry. 

 

“Don’t worry, Lup, I’m gonna, I’m gonna fix you, okay?” 

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentine's Day! Come talk to me @is-this-mandatory on tumblr!


End file.
